San Jose Sharks At Pittsburgh Penguins Preview: Skinner, Kulak Ruled Out; Penguins Recall Young Goaltender
The Pittsburgh Penguins will play their third-straight game at home on Saturday.
They lost the previous two games against the Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens and are trying to redeem themselves against a young, exciting San Jose Sharks team. The Penguins beat the Sharks 3-0 back on Oct. 18 when the Penguins were on their annual California trip.
The Sharks were 0-3-2 at the time, but are now 15-14-3 and in the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Macklin Celebrini has been on an absolute tear this season, compiling 15 goals and 44 points in 32 games. He’s doing everything he can to try to make the Team Canada Olympic roster.
Will Smith has also been fantastic, racking up 12 goals and 29 points in 32 games. Smith and Celebrini play together on the top line and are one of the top young duos in the NHL. The Penguins will need to be on high alert each time they’re on the ice.
Yaroslav Askarov will start in goal against the Penguins and has been solid this season, compiling a .903 save percentage and a 3.14 goals-against average.
The Penguins won’t have goaltender Stuart Skinner or defenseman Brett Kulak available for this game since they’re still dealing with immigration issues. The Penguins acquired both players in the Tristan Jarry trade on Friday.
With that in mind, the Penguins recalled young goaltender Sergei Murashov from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis for Saturday’s game. The goalie tandem for Saturday will be Arturs Silovs and Murashov, with Silovs starting.
Rickard Rakell will also be back in the lineup for the first time since Oct. 25. He will be a big boost to the lineup since he’s one of the Penguins’ best scorers.
Puck drop for this contest will be at 3 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 ‘The X.’
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